Synopses & Reviews
This book catalogues the rich and mostly unstudied illumination of the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Scott has made a selection of 140 illuminated books with perceptive insight; she includes those containing the finest works of art and also many illuminations that accompany some of the great masterpieces of Middle English literature. Among the magnificent liturgical works catalogued are the Carmelite, Abingdon, and Sherborne Missals, the Bedford Hours, and the Lovell Lectionary. Illustrated editions of Chaucer, Lydgate, and Gower are included; medical, botanical, and typographical books are represented, in addition to works of chivalry and chronicles of the Kings of England. Presenting a fifteenth-century view of court, church, and the taste for decoration and ornamentation, this book will interest historians of art and society.
Synopsis
This is the sixth and final part of the Survey of Manuscripts Illuminated in the British Isles. The author has made a perceptive selection of the rich and varied illuminated books of the 15th century, many previously unstudied, and has catalogued these in the greatest detail. She includes many surviving manuscripts of the period which contain the finest works of art, and also shows some of the illustrations to the great examples of Middle English literature such as Chaucer, Lydgate and Gower which will be of particular interest to English scholars. Among the masterpieces of the period are liturgical works: the Carmelite, Abingdon and Sherbone Missals, the Bedford Hours and the Lovell Lectionary. Besides these, medical, botanical and topographical books are represented as well as works of chivalry and chronicles of the Kings of England. Dr Scott describes workshop practice and the way in which different craftsmen contributed to the same book. She traces the development from monastic to commercial shop practice (especially in London) in the period preceding the advent of printing. These manuscripts provide insights into the 15th-century view of court, church, ordinary ways of life and working methods, making this final volume in the Survey of English manuscripts a book of exceptional interest and value for historians of art and society.
Synopsis
A beautiful two-volume work, the last in the Survey of Manuscripts Illuminated in the British Isles, which catalogues and discusses the rich illuminations of the fifteenth century. The illustrations from 140 illuminated books are fully described and discussed, tracing artistic style, iconography, scribal technique, language and dialect. The selection includes illustrated works by Chaucer, Lydgate and Gower and earlier liturgical works including the Carmelite and Sherbourne Missals, the Bedford Hours and the Lovell Lectionary as well as medical, botanical and topographical works together with Chronicles and Statutes of English Kings. In a detailed introduction Scott discusses the production of illustrated books, patronage, how the books were used, style and influential artists.
Table of Contents
1. Text and illustrations -- 2. Catalogue and indexes.